1972 and the Ulster troubles

Alan F. Parkinson

"1972 proved to be by far the bloodiest and most eventful year of the Northern Ireland conflict. The January shootings in Derry precipitated the downfall of the Stormont administration in March. British military reinforcements struggled to cope with the ferocity of the IRA's escalating campaign, the worst manifestations of which were no-warning attacks such as those in Claudy and Belfast on 'Bloody Friday'. Yet 1972, regarded by republicans as their 'Year of Victory', arguably marked both the high point of their campaign and the beginning of its demise. Loyalist paramilitarism was rampant during the year, as both the UVF and UDA were responsible for an increasing number of sectarian attacks and stand-offs with the British Army. 1972 also witnessed a further haemorrhaging of unionism, the emergence of the potentially sinister Vanguard movement and the substitution of Westminster...